Security measures were increased throughout Washington for the procession of Jimmy Carter, among other recent events.Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
Mourners hoping to pay their respects to Jimmy Carter’s procession in Washington on Tuesday wove through streets snarled by road closures, a recent winter storm and heightened security measures prompted by a series of events this month in the nation’s capital, including Inauguration Day.
The coffin of the former president returned to Washington on Tuesday, the day after President-elect Donald J. Trump’s election victory was certified by Congress, a ceremony that brought stepped-up security on the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The authorities began installing tall security fences and riot barriers on Oct. 1 in advance of the inauguration, preventing visitors from reaching the gates of the White House.
Officials also closed down the streets surrounding the Capitol on Friday, ahead of a counting of Electoral College votes on Monday that was completed peacefully, in sharp contrast to the riot that occurred four years earlier. The grounds of the Capitol remain closed to traffic, and tour buses have been rerouted to Union Station, several blocks away.
While Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department said there were no credible threats to the city, she added that the police increased security measures after a deadly New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans, when an army veteran drove a truck into revelers on Bourbon Street.
A winter storm that dumped several inches of snow in the Washington area on Monday also created obstacles for mourners looking to view the procession for Mr. Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, from behind barricades.
The Capitol Rotunda, where Mr. Carter’s coffin will lie in state before a formal state funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday, will be open to the public on Tuesday evening, but the line for the Capitol’s visitor center is expected to stretch far beyond its doors.
